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Devicesfor Collecting, Processing, and Planting SeedsFrom the Editor:

Without doubt, I get the most feedback from readers concerning the gizmos and gadgets peopleuse to grow and plant native species. And without doubt, most growers feel that their improvisa-tions are not really that special. In the following series of 7 short articles, you’ll see how kitchentools, badminton racquets, rock tumblers, and film canisters can be turned into efficient seed pro-cessing tools. I hope that some of these tricks can improve your nursery operations.

Kas

L O W - T E C H D E V I C E S F O R C O L L E C T I N G , P R O C E S S I N G , A N D P L A N T I N G S E E D SNATIVEPLANTS | SPRING 2004

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prefer using a food processor, the kitchen Cuisinart (ModelDFP Deluxe 11), for cleaning seeds of elderberry (Sambucusspp. L. [Caprifoliaceae]). At Cornflower Farms, we collect

Sambucus berries in the wild at site-specific locations through-out California. Once we get the berries back to the nursery, weremove them by hand from the stems as the first step in the seedcleaning process. Then we add the berries to the food processor(Figure 1). Depending on how juicy the berries are, we may ormay not need to add water. If the berries clump to the sides ofthe processor, we add enough water to ensure they swirl.

We run the food processor for about 1 min until we have apuree of berries. The puree is poured into a clean, empty bucketand then we slowly add water (Figure 2). Viable seeds sink to thebottom of the bucket while voided seeds and pulp float to the sur-face. The waste is decanted off the top and we keep repeating theprocess until we are left with clean seeds at the bottom of thebucket. The reason we pulled the berries off the stems is that oth-erwise the food processor chops the stems into little pieces thatsink to the bottom of the bucket with the clean seeds. Once clean,we drain off all of the water and place the seeds on newspaper tosurface dry (Figure 3), which may take 1 to 4 d depending on tem-perature and relative humidity. This process cleans seeds so wellthey can be stored in a refrigerator for 6 to 8 y without mold prob-lems. Also, we found that seeds cleaned with the food processorare less likely to mold and rot during the 3-mo cold, moist strati-fication period necessary for germination.

R E F E R E N C E

USDA NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS database, version 3.5. URL:

http://plants.usda.gov (accessed 14 Aug 2003). Baton Rouge (LA): The

National Plant Data Center.

CUISINART FOR CLEANING ELDERBERRY (SAMBUCUS SPP. L. [CAPRIFOLIACEAE]) SEEDS

Michelle Truscott |

A B S T R A C TThe common food processor is an effective tool for cleaningelderberry (Sambucus spp. L. [Caprifoliaceae]) seeds. Seedscleaned with this device can be stored in the refrigerator foryears without developing mold.

K E Y W O R D Sseed cleaning

N O M E N C L AT U R EUSDA NRCS (2002)

I

Figure 1. Elderberry fruits ready for cleaning and my trusty food processor.

Photos by Michelle Truscott

Figure 2. Floating the debris away from clean seeds.

Figure 3. Clean elderberry seeds ready for storage.

A U T H O R I N F O R M AT I O N

Michelle Truscott, GrowerCornflower Farms IncPO Box 896 | Elk Grove, CA [email protected]


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t the Plant Materials Center in Bridger, Montana, weprocess and clean more than 300 wildland seed collec-tions annually, many consisting of small volumes of

seedheads yielding less than 10 g (0.35 oz) of bulk seeds. If theseeds contain awns, wings, or other appendages requiringremoval, or if the seeds are held tightly in the seedheads, thesmall volume of material cannot be adequately threshed inour hammermill. Manual processing of small volumes on arubbing board is labor intensive and time consuming. Toimprove efficiency, we have developed a simple procedureusing a conventional household blender.

Our technique begins with wrapping the impeller blades ofthe blender with duct tape to minimize seed damage. We wrapthe blades so that the tape does not unravel or fray during use,but do not use so much tape that the impellers vibrate duringoperation, or bind with seeds and stems during processing. Werecently became aware that coating the impeller blades withliquid plastic in lieu of duct tape has been used successfully insimilar applications (Thomas 2003). An important feature ofthe blender is a low-speed pulse button, or other control thatreduces impeller speed. The standard on:off low-speed settingon most blenders is too fast for seed processing.

By intermittently “pulsing” the low-speed setting, we con-trol the duration and intensity of processing. Another impor-tant factor is the amount of seeds or seedheads initially placedin the blender. Too little material requires the addition of ricehulls or other inert material to create adequate abrasion. Toomuch material results in excessive maceration near theimpellers, with little or no abrasion toward the top of theblender. The ideal amount of material to place in a blendervaries with its size, but we find that 25% to 33% of storagecapacity works well. Frequent inspection during processing iscritical to assure that the seeds are not being damaged. Final

BLENDING DRY SEEDS CLEAN

Joseph D Scianna |

A B S T R A C TA kitchen blender with a slow-speed pulse button has beenused to clean small volumes of a variety of seeds.

K E Y W O R D Sseed cleaning, Asteraceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae,

Ranunculaceae, Onagraceae, Liliaceae


A

Photos by Joseph D Scianna

Using the blender, the extremely small seeds of fireweed (Chamerion angusti-folium (L.) Holub ssp. angustifolium) collected in the field (top) can beextracted from the hair and other debris (bottom).


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grower cannot be in all places at all times, especiallywhen producing and collecting seeds from hundredsof species. Ripening seeds are a temperature depend-

ent phenomena, and this is further complicated by eachspecies having its own prolonged period of fruit maturationand dispersal strategy. At Sunshine Farms and Gardens, wecollect seeds and grow many of the most desired southeasternUS woodland species. Many of these species can be challeng-ing to collect seeds from due to unique dispersal mechanismsof the fruits or dispersal agents or simply due to the small sizeof the seeds and fruits. We have come up with an efficient andeffective method to address this challenge.

Southeastern woodland species are as diverse in their dis-persal strategies and fruits as in their wide range of attractiveflowers and growth forms. Spotted geranium (Geranium mac-ulatum L. [Geraniaceae]) is a classic example of explosivedehiscence, where the seeds are spring loaded and catapultedaway from the plant when the fruits mature and split along thesutures. Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla (L.) Pers [Berberi-daceae]) produces a unique seed pod that resembles a hoodedpouch with a lid at the top that opens with a hinge-like attach-ment when mature. Similarly, several violets (Viola spp. L.[Violaceae]) have small pods that explode upon maturation.

Alternatively, seeds may be dispersed by an external forcesuch as raindrops, which disseminate the tiny black seeds of

cleaning is by sieving and winnowing or processing over asmall fanning mill.

We use this technique successfully on many genera of theAsteraceae including pearly everlasting (Anaphalis spp. DC.),arnica (Arnica spp. L.), balsamroot (Balsamorhiza spp. Nutt.),daisy (Erigeron spp. L.), blanket flower (Gaillardia spp. Foug.),golden aster (Heterotheca spp. Cass.), goldenrod (Solidago spp.L.), and aster (Symphyotrichum spp. Nees). We have also usedit with feathery achenes of Geum L. spp. (Rosaceae) and Pul-satilla P. Mill. spp. (Ranunculaceae), winged seeds of pines(Pinus spp. L. [Pinaceae]) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga men-ziesii (Mirbel) Franco [Pinaceae]), and grass seeds (Poaceae)such as needlegrass (Achnatherum spp. Beauv.), wheatgrass(Pseudoroegneria spp. (Nevski) A. Löve), and wildrye (Elymusspp. L.). It also works well with dehiscent capsules of wil-lowherbs (Epilobium spp. L. [Onagraceae]) and glacier lily(Erythronium spp. L. [Liliaceae]).

R E F E R E N C E SThomas D. 2003. Modifying blender blades for seed cleaning. Native Plants

Journal 4:72–73.


http://plants.usda.gov (accessed 20 Jun 2003). Baton Rouge (LA): The


grower cannot be all places at all times, especially when prog-


Joseph D SciannaHorticulturistUSDA Natural Resources Conservation ServiceBridger Plant Materials CenterRoute 2 Box 1189Bridger, MT [email protected]

COLLECTING SEEDS FROM SOUTHEASTERN US WOODLAND SPECIES

Barry Glick |

A B S T R A C TIn order to collect seeds from a wide range of southeasternUS woodland species with diverse dispersal strategies, spe-cially made collection bags are placed over plants. After col-lection, seeds are separated from debris with a strainer andfurther cleaned with a fanning mill. This method can beused for efficient collection of large numbers of seeds atideal ripeness, in a nursery or in the wild.

K E Y W O R D Sseed dispersal, Geranium maculatum,

Jeffersonia diphylla, Viola species, Mitella species, Sanguinaria canadensis, Hepatica americana,

Asarum canadense, Dicentra cucullaria, Dodecatheonspecies, Spiranthes cernua, Tipularia discolor


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miterwort (Mitella spp. L. [Saxifragaceae]) from the openedsaucer-shaped capsules. Ants are also important dispersalagents in woodlands and rapidly carry away the seeds ofbloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis L. [Papaveraceae]), Cana-dian wild ginger (Asarum canadense L. [Araceae]), Americanhepatica (Hepatica nobilis Schreb. var obtusa (Pursh) Steyer-mark [Ranunculaceae]) and Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentracucullaria (L.) Bernh. [Fumariaceae]).

Shooting star (Dodecatheon spp. L. [Primulaceae]) and Vir-ginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica (L.) Pers. ex Link [Boragi-naceae]) have capsules that open quickly upon maturation,while native orchids (Orchidaceae), such as nodding ladiestresses (Spiranthes cernua (L.) L.C. Rich) and cranefly orchid(Tipularia discolor (Pursh) Nutt.), have dust-like seeds that aredispersed immediately. Such small seeds and fruits can also bedifficult or time consuming to collect seeds from.

In order to collect seeds from such a wide range of species,we have designed specially made collection bags that we placeover our stock plants in the nursery as seeds approach matura-tion. The bags are made from a mill-spun polyester fiber thatis rot and UV resistant and last for many years. Bags are avail-able in 1.2 x 1.8 m (4 x 6 ft), 1.2 x 2.4 m ( 4 x 8 ft) and 1.2 x 3 m(4 x 10 ft) sizes from our nursery. We tie the bags over stockplants as the fruits are maturing and include a couple of mar-bles to help weigh them down.

After collection, seeds are passed through a metal strainerto separate seeds from debris. Finally, we run our seedlotsthrough a fanning mill using various size screens to provideclean seeds. This year, we will collect around 6.8 million seedsfrom hundreds of plants in our nursery, many of them byusing this method. This ensures that we capture seeds whenthey are ripe and protects them from loss. Our collection bagscan also be used for wild collections for many other speciesthat have rapid dispersal or present other problems for theseed collector.

R E F E R E N C E


http://plants.usda.gov (accessed 18 Aug 2003). Baton Rouge (LA): The



Barry GlickSunshine Farms and GardensHC 67 Box 539 BRenick, WV [email protected]

Photos by Barry G

lick


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t the USDA Forest Service Shrub Sciences Laboratory,we collect the small-seeded composites (Asteraceae)long-leaf hawksbeard (Crepis acuminata Nutt.) and

pale mountain dandelion (Agoseris glauca (Pursh) Raf.) byhand or with racquets and hoppers. Badminton racquets havea tight weave and are ideal for collecting lightweight seeds. Ten-nis racquets can be used on shrub species. In either case, weconstruct a hopper using cordura cloth sown onto a roundframe (Figure 1). The cloth is attached to the frame so that thecenter has a drop down and seeds are not blown out of the hop-per. When target species are in the open and higher in staturethan surrounding vegetation, I find the racquet and hopper thefastest collection method. If the wind is blowing, I’ll hand pickindividual plants, immediately placing the seeds from eachhead into a bag.

Of course, some disparity in ripening time occurs amongplants in a population. Because you may not be able to returnto the site repeatedly to maximize a collection, we have experi-mented with collecting heads prior to full ripening. On thesame day at the same site, long-leaf hawksbeard collected early(seed heads not open) had 40% viability while those collectedwith open heads yielded 61% viability. The effect of storage onviability of these 2 lots is unknown, but it is apparent that

RACQUETS, HOPPERS, AND FELT BOARDS—LOW-TECH DEVICES FOR PROCESSING SEEDS

Scott Jensen |

A B S T R A C TIn Utah, racquets and hoppers are used to collect small lotsof long-leaf hawksbeard (Crepis acuminata Nutt. [Aster-aceae]) and pale mountain dandelion (Agoseris glauca(Pursh) Raf. [Asteraceae]). These seedlots are often contam-inated with squirreltail (Elymus elymoides (Raf.) Swezey[Poaceae]) and cheatgrass (Broumus tectorum L. [Poaceae]).We toss the mixed seeds at a large piece of plush felt—thecomposite seeds fall to a collection container but theappendages on the grasses stick to the felt.

K E Y W O R D Sseed cleaning, Asteraceae, Crepis acuminata, long-leaf

hawksbeard, Agoseris glauca, mountain dandelion, Poaceae, Elymus elymoides, squirreltail,

Broumus tectorum, cheatgrass


A

Photos by Scott Jensen

Figure 1. Collecting Asteraceae seeds with badminton racquet and a hoppermade from cordura cloth sown onto a round frame.

Figure 2. When tossed at a piece of felt, desired Asteraceae seeds fall into acollection pan but unwanted grass seeds, with their prickly appendages, arecaught on the felt.


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n the field, seed heads of small lots of grass (Poaceae) canbe harvested with scissors or small scythes and placed intopaper bags, making sure to make a donut hole in the cen-

ter of filled bags. This allows air to penetrate down to the bot-tom of the bag and prevents seeds from overheating in thefield (Figure 1). Rather than bringing all of the high moisturecontent plant material back to the nursery for processing, dry-ing, and cleaning, we find it useful to coarse screen the mate-rial in the field. For this screening, we constructed simpleframes with hardware cloth, scrap lumber, and woodscrews.

We attached large diameter hardware cloth (6.35 mm [0.25in] holes) to frames made from scrap wood (66 x 71 cm [26 x28 in] long). Small wooden flaps can be secured to the sides ofthe frames to give the frames some height. The hardware clothis secured between wood frames with woodscrews. Once con-structed, we used the frames (Figure 2) for cleaning directlyafter harvest in the field. It is essential to take a drop cloth and

closed head collections may yield some viable seeds. If the siteis particularly windy a larger proportion of seeds may be har-vested by early collection.

For small lot applications we have not found it necessary toremove the pappus from the achene, so cleaning is simply amatter of separating the chaff. Larger material can be pickedout by hand or separated by a screen. Two grasses (Poaceae),squirreltail (Elymus elymoides (Raf.) Swezey) and cheatgrass(Broumus tectorum L.), are the most common seeds that con-taminate our lots. We remove these species on our speciallydesigned felt board. We simply drape a yard of plush felt mate-rial over a similarly sized plywood board, incline the board to asteep angle, and toss handfuls of seeds at the board. Most of thecomposite seeds rebound off the board and fall to the collectionpan beneath. Shaking and tapping the board helps free anyremaining composite seeds. Appendages on the grass seeds arecaught on the loose weave of the felt (Figure 2). Differentweaves may be best suited for different problems posed by var-ious seed types. We now use the plush felt material wheneverprickly seeded material needs to be separated from a seed lot.

R E F E R E N C E





Scott JensenBotanistUSDA Forest ServiceShrub Sciences Laboratory735 N 500 EProvo, UT [email protected]

CLEANING GRASS SEEDS

Colleen Archibald and Craig Dremann |

A B S T R A C TWooden frames with hardware cloth provide an easy way toeffectively pre-clean small lots of grass seeds in the field. Wedescribe frames with 2 sizes of cloth used for western grass species.

K E Y W O R D SPoaceae, Elymus, Bromus, Festuca,

Koeleria, Deschampsia, wildrye, brome, fescue, prairie junegrass, hairgrass


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Photo by David B

Davis

Figure 1. A donut hole in the collection bag allows air circulation and preventsseeds from overheating in the field.


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Colleen Archibald, Biological TechnicianUSDA Forest Service | J Herbert Stone Nursery 2606 Old Stage Road | Central Point, OR [email protected]

Craig Dremann, Co-OwnerThe Reveg EdgePO Box 609 | Redwood City, CA 94064

paper bags, too. After collecting seed heads, we sit on theground with the screen and rub the plant material vigorously afew times to dislodge the seeds from the inflorescences, whichfall onto the drop cloth. We pour seeds into paper bags fortransport back to the nursery.

Wildrye (Elymus spp. L.) and bromes (Bromus spp. L.) arespecies we commonly and easily pre-clean in the field with ourscreens. For smaller-seeded grass species, such as prairie junegrass(Koeleria macrantha (Ledeb.) J.A. Schultes), hairgrass (Deschamp-sia spp. Beauv.), and fescues (Festuca spp. L.), we use frames withsmaller diameter hardware cloth (3.1 mm [0.125 in] holes).

We think you will be surprised how easily small lots ofmany species can be cleaned with this method, and how mini-mal the amount of chaff in the seed lot will be.

R E F E R E N C E


http://plants.usda.gov (accessed 20 Apr 2003). Baton Rouge (LA): The


Phot

o by

Dav

id B

Dav

is

Figure 2. A wooden frame covered with hardware cloth makes an effectivegrass seed cleaning device.

t the Los Lunas Plant Materials Center in New Mexico,we use small hobby-size rock tumblers to accomplish anumber of seed cleaning and seed conditioning treat-

ments. The principal application of the tumbler has been themaceration of dried or hydrated fruit pulp. We commonly useit to remove pulp from dried New Mexico olive (Forestierapubescens Nutt. var. pubescens [Oleaceae]) fruits. The fruits arecollected in late summer or fall after the pulp has dehydratedand adheres tenaciously to seeds. A wet tumbling procedureemploying pea gravel/crushed stone and water in a rubber-lined tumbler vessel allows the rehydration of the pulp and theslow abrasion of pulp from seeds. The amount of water is min-imized so that the gravel and fruit makes a slurry. This methodis not quick, but the tumbler can be run overnight and checkedthe following day. After a course of tumbling, the contents aredumped into a sieve and the pulp is washed off, leaving cleanseeds. The tumbling process is repeated until clean seeds areachieved (Figure 1).

Another cleaning application involves removal of fine hairsattached to achenes of Arizona sycamore (Platanus wrightii S.Wats. [Platanaceae]). The dry fruiting heads are crushed underwater to partially liberate the achenes while preventing dustand fine hairs from becoming airborne (Figure 2). A slurry ofachenes with pea gravel is tumbled and the hairs detach over

TUMBLING FOR SEED CLEANING AND CONDITIONING

David Dreesen |

A B S T R A C TSmall rock tumblers can be used to clean and conditionseeds both in an aqueous and a dry mode. During theprocess, grit and gravel remove fruit pulp and abrade seedcoats. Wet tumbling of seed aids imbibition, leaches water-soluble germination inhibitors, and may partially substitutefor cold stratification for some shrub seed lots.

K E Y W O R D SOleaceae, Forestiera pubescens var. pubescens,

New Mexico olive, Platanaceae, Platanus wrightii, Arizona sycamore, Grossulariaceae,

Ribes aureum, Ribes cereum, Solanaceae, Lycium torreyii, wolfberry, Cornaceae,

Cornus sericea ssp. sericea, redosier dogwood


A


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time and can be separated using sieves and strong sprays ofwater. In addition, the wet tumbling thoroughly imbibes seedsand may leach out water soluble germination inhibitors. Aftercleaning and imbibition, seeds are typically cold stratified.

Dry tumbling to scarify legume seeds has been investigated(Bonner and others 1974; Dreesen and Harrington 1997). Therationale for dry tumbling is to avoid seed destruction that canreadily occur with sulfuric acid, boiling water, and high energyimpact mechanical scarification treatments. Dry tumbling is aslow process taking several days to a week, but we often use itwhen we have small seed lots we do not want to risk with otherscarification treatments. The procedure uses carborundumgrit (sold by rock tumbler dealers), pea gravel, and seeds. Aftertumbling, scarified seeds are separated from the grit and gravelwith sieves. The grit can also be reused by washing the seedcoat debris through a fine sieve or by floating off the debris andthen drying the grit. Different size grits are available and wetypically use fairly coarse material. Coarse grit size is still muchsmaller than most legume seeds, allowing the easy sieve sepa-ration of grit, seeds, and gravel.

Wet tumbling can be used for scarification if an abrasive(typically pea gravel) is incorporated in the seed and waterslurry (Dreesen and others 2002). The force imparted to thegrit by the tumbling gravel facilitates abrasion. Although thistreatment method may result in some seed coat degradation,other effects may be more important, such as assuring com-plete imbibition in well-aerated water and the leaching ofwater soluble germination inhibitors in the seed coat. A typicaltreatment would involve wet tumbling for several days to aweek with daily changes of water.

For a few species, wet tumbling may partially substitute for acold stratification requirement. Two currant species (Ribesaureum Pursh and R. cereum Dougl. [Grossulariaceae]) and wolf-berry (Lycium torreyii Gray [Solanaceae]) generally require 2 to 3m of cold stratification to achieve acceptable germination. Wettumbling followed by 1 to 2 wk of storage in a warm moist envi-ronment has resulted in germination without cold stratification.The dry seeds of another important riparian species, redosierdogwood (Cornus sericea L. ssp. sericea [Cornaceae]), generallyrequire 1 h scarification in concentrated sulfuric acid and then 2to 3 mo of cold stratification for acceptable germination. Usingfresh fruit with hydrated pulp, rapid germination has beenachieved by wet tumbling the fruit with 1 to 2 cm (0.5 to 0.75 in)gravel. Most of the pulp is removed in the first day of tumblingand separated by screening and float/sink manipulations in water.After pulp removal, seeds are wet tumbled for several more dayswith daily water changes. The imbibed seed is then stored in awarm moist environment; germination starts in about 7 to 10 dand continues for several weeks. Although a limited number ofspecies have been tested with wet tumbling for seed conditioning,additional species may benefit from this treatment.

Figure 1. The pulp of naturally dehydrated fruits (top) of New Mexico olive canbe removed using a rock tumbler, leaving extremely clean seeds (bottom).

Photos by Tara Luna

Figure 2. At Los Lunas Plant Materials Center, dry fruiting heads of Arizonasycamore, seen lower left, are crushed under water in a large pan. The hairsagglomerate into balls (gray sieve in foreground). A slurry of achenes and peagravel are tumbled in the rock tumber to dislodge the hairs. Finally, the ach-enes, hairs, and pea gravel are separated with soil sieves with the cleanedachenes visible in the brass sieve (background).


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n my nursery program, I find that simple, inexpensivetools often work well. Two tools that I use regularly are a35-mm film canister with a hole punched in the lid, and a

custom-made, “fingered,” tin fruit harvester.

F I L M C A N I S T E R F O R A C C U R AT E S E E D S O W I N G

I use a film canister to accurately sow small seeds. First, Imeasure the size of seeds of the species I intend to sow to getan idea of how large or small to make the hole in the film can-ister lid. Next, I heat the tip of a piece of wire and melt a hole inthe center of the lid from the bottom side out. I found that if Imelt the hole from the top inward, seeds will hang up on theplastic edges around the hole and will not shake through easily.I test the shaker to see how many seeds come through the lid bysimply turning it over with 1 or 2 shakes. I modify the size ofthe opening on a new film canister lid based on the results.

For willows (Salix L.), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloidesMichx.), and black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera ssp. tri-chocarpa (Torr. & Gray ex Hook.) Brayshaw [Salicaceae]) seeds, Itry for a hole of sufficient size to allow 2 seeds to easily fallthrough the opening per shake so that nursery workers do nothave to vigorously shake the containers. By taking time to makethe hole size accurate, I reduce the amount of seeds sown per con-tainer, the time it takes to sow the crop, and eliminate hours ofthinning multiple germinants per container (Figure 1).

This method works well for other small-seeded species,such as Lewis’ mockorange (Philadelphus lewisii Pursh


David DreesenHorticulturistUSDA Natural Resources Conservation ServiceLos Lunas Plant Materials CenterLos Lunas, NM [email protected]

R E F E R E N C E S

Bonner FT, McLemore BF, Barnett JP. 1974. Presowing treatment of seed to

speed germination. In: Schopmeyer CS, technical coordinator. Seeds of

woody plants in the United States. Washington (DC): USDA Forest Ser-

vice. Agriculture Handbook No. 450. p 126–135.

Dreesen DR, Harrington JT. 1997. Propagation of native plants for restora-

tion projects in the Southwestern U.S.—preliminary investigations. In:

Landis TD; Thompson JR, technical coordinators. National proceed-

ings, forest and conservation nursery associations. Portland (OR):

USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. General Tech-

nical Report PNW-GTR-419. p 77–88.

Dreesen DR, Harrington J, Subirge T, Stewart P, Fenchel G. 2002. Riparian

restoration in the southwest: species selection, propagation, planting

methods, and case studies. In: Dumroese RK; Riley LE; Landis TD, techni-

cal coordinators. National proceedings: forest and conservation nursery

associations—1999, 2000, and 2001. Ogden (UT): USDA Forest Service

Rocky Mountain Research Station. Proceedings RMRS-P-24. p 253–272.




LOW COST TOOLS FOR SEED COLLECTION AND SEED SOWING

Dawn Thomas |

A B S T R A C TA modified 35-mm film canister is a useful tool for con-trolled sowing of small-seeded native species, and a simple,metal, custom-made harvester makes for efficient collectionof late-season fleshy fruits.

K E Y W O R D SSalicaceae, Populus, Salix, Philadelphus lewisii, Hydrangeaceae,

Carex, Schoenoplectus, Cyperaceae, Juncus, Juncaceae, Rosawoodsii, Rosaceae, Symphoricarpos albus, Caprifoliaceae


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[Hydrangeaceae]) and for many wetland species, such assedges (Carex L.), bulrushes (Schoenoplectus (Reichenb.) Palla[Cyperaceae]), and rushes (Juncus L. [Juncaceae]).

C U S T O M - M A D E T I N F R U I T H A R V E S T E R

I designed a metal fruit harvester out of tin so that we could effi-ciently harvest large quantities of late-season fleshy fruits, such aswoods rose (Rosa woodsii Lindl. [Rosaceae]) and snowberry(Symphoricarpos albus (L.) Blake [Caprifoliaceae]). The end of thescoop has several metal fingers that are spaced so that when thefruit-bearing stems are combed through the fingers, the fruits arepulled off but the stems pass through the fingers undamaged. Thiscreates an easy and debris-free harvest of fruits when used afterleaf fall in late autumn. The tin fruit harvester can be madecheaply by any local sheet metal shop and customized for late sea-son fruits in your area (Figure 2).


Dawn ThomasNursery ManagerSalish-Kootenai Tribal College Native Plant NurseryPO Box 70Pablo, MT [email protected]

Photos by Daw

n Thomas

Figure 1. Melting a hole in film canister lid converts it into an inexpensive buteffective device for sowing small seeds.

Figure 2. A custom-made metal harvester for collecting fruits.

R E F E R E N C E

USDA NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS database, version 3.5. URL: http://plants. usda.

gov (accessed 3 Dec 2003). Baton Rouge (LA): The National Plant Data Center.

l l ll lowtechspecies having its own prolonged period of fruit maturation and dispersal strategy. at...

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